A Charlie Brown Christmas

1965

THE animated film A Charlie Brown Christmas is based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M Schulz, and is directed by Bill Melendez.

Charlie Brown, the main character, cannot seem to find the true meaning of Christmas as all he sees are his friends obsessing over decorations, cards, presents, and letters to Santa.

In an effort to unearth his Christmas spirit, Charlie decides to direct the holiday pageant. He goes to buy a Christmas tree for the pageant, but instead of getting the popular pretty aluminium one he goes instead for a small fir tree, which looked lonely and out of place — quite similar to how Charlie was feeling in the holiday season.

All his friends mocked the little tree because it did not fit into the modern Christmas spirit.

However, after Linus, Charlie’s best friend tells the biblical Christmas story, Charlie and the Peanuts gang finally understand the true meaning of Christmas and they all decorate the little tree.

This movie speaks to the lack of meaning that Christmas has come to embody due to over commercialisation and materialism — a reality with which we can all identify.

The Santa Clause

1994

THE Santa Clause trilogy stole its way into our hearts from 1994 when Scott Calvin, played by Tim Allen, inadvertently became the new Santa after stepping into the red boots of Father Christmas.

After being told that he was supposed to be the new Santa, Scott gradually underwent changes such as growing a flowing white beard, putting on weight and getting white hair. Despite, rejecting it at first, Scott makes his son Charlie proud by accepting the role of Saint Nick.

By the second movie in 2002, we were already hooked and were supporting Scott all the way as he searched for a Mrs Claus in order to save Christmas.

After eight years of being Santa, Scott had become estranged from his son and needed to try to reconcile with him.

While searching for a wife in order to secure his position as the true Kris Kringle, the North Pole was being taken over by a robotic version of Scott with absolutely no compassion.

Scott eventually fell in love with the principal of Charlie’s school and reconciles with Charlie. Together, as we cheered them on, they saved Christmas by removing Scott’s robotic counterpart and deliver Scott back to his rightful role.

With the high standard of the first two movies it would have been easy for The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause to disappoint, but it didn’t. The villainous Jack Frost attempted to con Scott out of his Santa Claus position and succeeded at first, turning Christmas and the North Pole in a purely commercial venture.

With a pregnant wife, and a family surrounding him, Scott turns Frost’s tricks against him and reclaims the North Pole, turning Christmas back into the special time of year that it should be.

Home Alone

LET’S be clear, no Christmas is complete without one or all of the movies in this series. What brings a family together more than a little action, comedy, crime, and family.

In 1990, Home Alone catapulted 10-year-old Macaulay Culkin to superstardom, (who can forget that face?).

Culkin plays Kevin McAllister, who is left “home alone” when his entire rambunctious family leaves for a vacation in France.

While at home relishing the peace and quiet, Kevin discovers two burglars, Harry and Marv, planning to rob his house on Christmas Eve.

Never one to run from a fight, Kevin uses household items and even his toys to defend his home, with very hilarious results.

Two years later, the second instalment Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (HM2) is released. The show picks up a year after the first “home alone” incident. In this movie, Kevin actually makes it to the airport, but instead of going to Miami with the rest of his family, he ends up on a flight to New York.

There, he realises that he has his father’s wallet and proceeds to check into a luxury hotel just off Central Park.

Just as in the first instalment, Kevin stumbles upon the plans of Harry and Marv, who have escaped from prison, to rob the toy store Toy Chest, which normally donates money to a children’s hospital.

Kevin, is older and even more cunning, as he foils the Wet Bandits’ attempt to rob the store and lures them to his uncle’s home that is being renovated — the perfect place to inflict serious (if ridiculously funny) harm.

Exploding toilet bowls and swinging paint cans aside, HM2 shows Kevin befriending a homeless Pigeon Woman, who shows him how to appreciate all he has.

For the third instalment, Home Alone 3 (1997) gets a new star Alex D Linz.

He plays nine-year-old Alex Pruitt, who is home alone, because he’s ill.

While home, he receives a toy car that holds a top-secret chip to support a North Korean terrorist organisation’s next deed.

The four high-tech industrial spies, Beaupre, Alice, Jernigan, and Unger, steal a top-secret Air Force microchip, and, to pass it through customs, they hide it in a remote-control toy car.

Alex’s neighbour, grumpy old Mrs Hess, pays Alex for shovelling her driveway, with the car she mistakenly picks up at the airport.

The spies, who don’t know which house to find the toy, decide to burglarise every house on Alex’s street to find the chip.

Alex watches their “progress” on the street and calls the police, but they never catch them in the act.

This leads to accusations of The Boy Who Cried Wolf and Alex has no choice, but to lure them to his house of many booby-traps.

Jingle All the Way

1996

IN this 1996 family Christmas comedy, two rival fathers, workaholic Howard Langston (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) and overzealous mailman Myron Larabee (played by Sinbad) are both trying to get the very last available Turbo-Man action figure for their sons on Christmas Eve.

In this wacky movie, Langston, a mattress salesman, who is hardly there for his wife Liz or son Jamie, promises his son that he would get him the most wanted toy that Christmas, Turbo-Man.

Langston foolishly believes he can just pick up the toy last-minute on Christmas Eve, and during his rude awakening meets mailman Myron, who for the same work-related reason is in the very same predicament.

The movie follows the duo, who soon become rivals, going from toy store to toy store, surviving a stampede, getting caught up in a counterfeit toy sting that busts toy makers in santa suits.

They also break into and hold up a radio station, and even have an epic, costumed battle in the middle of a Christmas parade, just to get their hands on the last available Turbo-Man.

Though one of our favourites, the film, inspired by real life Christmas toy rushes of the nineties like those for Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, which left both empty handed parents and children in tears, received some negative criticism as it chose to focus on the commercialism of Christmas, with strong family values, the usual Christmas movie overtone, being a distant undertone.

101 Dalmatians

1996

A remake of the 1961 animated film, which was adapted from Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, the live-action film was released in 1996.

It stars Cruella De Vil (played by Glenn Close), a rich but very bitter and selfish entrepreneur, Roger Dearly (played by Jeff Daniels) a video game designer and Anita Campbell-Green (played by Joely Richardson) a fashion designer and employee of Cruella.

Roger and Anita both happen to own Dalmatians, and after falling in love and getting married, their beloved Pongo and Perdy follow suit.

During the movie, Cruella is determined to have the ultimate fur coat, one made from the pelt of actual Dalmatians after being inspired by one of Anita’s drawings.

However, when her dream is threatened by the couple, she goes on a rampage, forcing her henchmen to steal the 15 new pups belonging to them as well as others around London.

With assistance from animals around London, the puppies manage to outwit Cruella’s henchmen and reunite with their parents and owners, restoring the Christmas joy that at one point seemed a distant dream.

Filled with comedy and adventure, this movie is a must-see for the family this Christmas.

Richie Rich’$ Christmas Wish

1998

Have you ever thought that life would be easier if you were never born? Well, in this 1998 movie, David Gallagher, starring as Richie Rich, accidentally wishes that he was never born because his spoilt cousin, Reggie Van Dough, turned everyone against him by spreading false rumours. This wish is granted by a wishing machine that Richie’s home scientist, Professor Keanbean, had invented.

He is instantly transported to a world where no one recognizes him, except his dog, and where Reggie had taken his place as the richest child in the world. Hunger and misery prevail in that world, as Reggie uses his power to oppress everyone, breaking the tradition of delivering gifts to the homeless kids as Richie and his caretaker, Cadbury, would always do.

Richie then realises that he needs to undo his wish and with the help of Professor Keanbean, Cadbury and his friends, he managed to outsmart Reggie and restore the world as it was. Because of the experience, Richie learns about the fragility of life and realises that little misfortunes are present to shape you into a better person and one should not choose to run from it at the first possible chance.

Have a watch with the family and see if your view of life is changed.

A Christmas Carol

2009

BASED on the classic novel by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol told the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a rich, but stingy old man who finds his way to redemption.

The 2009 movie begins by showing the selfish greed of Scrooge, played by Jim Carrey, who cared about no one and nothing, but money. Scrooge is then visited by many apparitions, who try to help him to see the error of his ways.

He first gets visited by his old business partner, the Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present and finally the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. All these ‘ghosts’ help Scrooge to see how he used to be, how he is and how he will be if he doesn’t make amends for his actions.

Despite waking up and discovering it was a dream, Scrooge changes his ways and starts to help others in the true Christmas spirit.

A Christmas Carol was the consummate Christmas tale, with a little bit of action, flashing lights and most importantly a message of sharing and kindness.

Jack Frost

1998

JACK Frost is a touching tale about a father who gets a second chance to make things right with his son. The story is based on the life of a musician, Jack Frost (Michael Keaton), who constantly breaks the promises he makes to his son.

To make up for missing his son’s hockey match he promises to take his family up to their log cabin for the holiday. However, he is called away for work and has to break yet another promise. On his way to work he has a change of heart and decides to return home but he doesn’t make it.

He dies in a car accident. A year later he comes back to life as the snowman his son makes.

As a snowman he achieves all the things he wanted to do with his son when he was alive. He spends more time with him and they truly bond. However, there is a melancholic undertone as it is hinted that he can’t stay with him, like this, forever.

The snow starts to melt and his son, in a desperate attempt to save his father, journeys with him to their log cabin in the mountains where it is colder. ‘ It is here that the mother who initially had thought her son was going crazy, sees that her husband had actually returned as a snowman.

But it is rather late because now Jack has to leave them for good.

It’s an unconventional movie but a good film to watch this Christmas. It’s very sad but it teaches an important lesson.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

2002

OKAY, we know we all have watched How The Grinch stole Christmas, but TEENage wishes to share a lesson that can be drawn from this movie. For those who have not watched it, here is a quick summary.

Everyone in Whoseville loved Christmas — everyone, except the Grinch. A little girl, Cindy Loo Who, thought it would be in the Christmas spirit to reunite the Grinch with the townspeople, so she nominated and invited the Grinch to be Whoseville’s Holiday Cheermeister. This, however, turned into a big disaster, as the Grinch’s childhood arch nemesis, Mayor Who, humiliated the Grinch in front of all of Whoseville by proposing to their childhood crush, Martha Who.

The Grinch decided to take revenge, stealing everything that symbolised Christmas for the Whos — presents, Christmas lights, and food. In the end, the people of Whoseville realised that they had missed the point of Christmas — it was not only about food and presents, but about love and togetherness.

TEENage believes the moral of this movie is that while we enjoy all the sorrel and cake this Christmas, be thoughtful of others who are less fortunate.

Spread some cheer this Christmas!